drive. The wind kicked up, lifting his hat from his head. He caught hold of it right before the darn thing sailed away and kept it flattened to his head as he walked on.
Oh man, his bones were chilled, and he had no doubt it was going to be a long, cold, sleepless night for him. Once he reached his cabin door, a wreath of pine and holly berries greeted him, something that hadn’t been there when he’d left for Chicago three days ago. The staff or maybe Beau himself must’ve put it up as a way of welcoming him back. Or maybe it was simply a Preston tradition to decorate every door on the ranch. Christmas cheer seemed especially important on Look Away.
Brooks entered the cabin, and as soon as his boots hit the wood planks, warmth rose up and smacked him in the face. It went a long way in taking the chill off from his cold trek. The fireplace crackled, and his gaze traveled to the tangerine flames partially lighting the room. He stepped farther inside, removing his coat and hat, rubbing at the back of his neck and wondering about the fire.
“Brooks?” Ruby’s soft voice had him turning toward the bedroom doorway.
As soon as he spotted her, his breath caught tight in his throat. She stood at the threshold clad in one of his white dress shirts, the sleeves pushed up and the tail reaching to midthigh on her gorgeous legs. Firelight christened her face and was reflected in her dark chocolate eyes. The lovely vision she made heated his blood, and hope sprang to life inside his body. Good God, she was beautiful.
And here.
“I hope it’s okay. Beau gave me the key to the cabin.”
Tongue-tied, Brooks barely got the words out. “No, uh, it’s fine.”
“I did some decorating.”
He tore his gaze from her to scan the room. A tree sat on a corner table. This one would make Charlie Brown proud. The awkward branches were filled with tiny ornaments and multicolored lights. It was a clear winner and perhaps his favorite Christmas tree ever.
Centered in the middle of the dining room table, a big glass bowl of shiny red and green Christmas balls caught his attention. Atop the mantel, a family of snowmen and Santa trinkets along with cinnamon-scented pillar candles added to the holiday warmth.
“I like it.” He was a little dumbfounded, standing there, drinking in the sight of Ruby in his cabin after days and days of no communication. “So, does this mean you’re talking to me again?”
“If you want an answer to that, you’ll have to come here.”
“Baby, you don’t have to ask twice.” Her subtle, familiar scent, sheet of glossy hair raining down her back and mysteriously sexy voice lured him in. He took the steps necessary to come face-to-face with the woman of his fantasies, giving him the little boost he needed to lay his heart on the line. He’d been a fool not to claim her before this. Not to tell her what she meant to him.
“I like your shirt,” he said, tracing a finger on her rosy lips, then skimming it along her sweet chin to her neckline and down to the hollow where the shirt dipped into her mind-numbing cleavage.
“Ask me why I’m here.”
“With you dressed like that, I’m supposed to think straight?”
She chuckled, the deep sound coming up from her throat catching him off guard. “Try.”
“You picked me?”
“Galahad, it was never really a contest. Trace isn’t the man for me.”
“You ditched him?”
“I told him I didn’t love him anymore. That we weren’t meant to be. I’m not happy about you bribing him, but afterward I had a heart-to-heart talk with him, and he was honest with me about everything. He’s messed up his life and swore up and down that he never meant to hurt me.”
“And you forgave him?” The cheater, the creep, Brooks wanted to add, but he was in too hopeful a mood to press his luck.
She nodded. “It’s easier when you’re no longer emotionally invested. He’ll get on the right track again. He got an offer to do a reality show on a country cable television station, and he jumped at the chance. He’ll be moving to Nashville soon.”
“That’s good to hear, because I wouldn’t have let you go. I wouldn’t have given up on you.”
“Because that’s what white knights do?”
“Because I’m crazy about you, Ruby. I’m out of my mind in love with you.”
Ruby’s face brightened, and she smiled. “I love you too, Brooks. This isn’t a passing thing for me. This is the real deal.”
Thank God.
He didn’t need the mistletoe above their heads for permission to kiss her. He circled his arms around her waist and brought her up against him. Her chin tilted, and he gazed into the most stunning pair of dark eyes he’d ever seen. The glow in them promised more than he could ever hope for. Ruby was going to be his. And then his mouth came down on hers, meeting her flesh to flesh. Her soft lips slid over him exquisitely. Her petite body, all five-foot-two of her, crushed against him and put his brain in jeopardy of shutting completely down.
He broke the kiss to her defiant whimper and then dipped down to lift her. Her brows arched in question, but she didn’t stir otherwise. Her arms automatically roped around his neck, and he carried her to a chair beside the sizzling fire. A log broke apart, and golden flames climbed the height of the fireplace, bringing intense heat. He sat down in the warmth, and Ruby wiggled in his lap. But Brooks had to contain his lust for just a few more seconds. “Ruby, I thought I’d blown it with you. Foolishly I left town without telling you how I felt about you. Maybe I shouldn’t have had Trace investigated...”
“You think?”
“Okay, I get it. It wasn’t my business to interfere, but I was trying my best to protect you from getting hurt again. Ever since the night we met at the C’mon Inn, when that guy was pestering you, I’ve had this need to protect you.”
“Are you apologizing?”
“For not trusting in you? Yes. You’re more than capable of making up your own mind about things.”
She gently took his hand in hers and stroked his fingers, sending tingles up and down his arm. “I didn’t mind the first time, Brooks. I thought it was really kinda sweet of you, coming to my rescue. You didn’t know me, and still you were willing to help me. But with Trace, it was different. I really don’t want to talk about him anymore tonight. It’s over and done with. I know in my heart you had good intentions.”
“I did and I still do, sweetheart. Actually, you call me Galahad, but in truth, you’re the rescuer in this duo. You’ve saved me, Ruby. From the very moment I met you, my life changed. I’ve become a better person, a more tolerant man, because of you. I came here looking for my true father and found a new way of life, as well. I’ve discovered something within me that I wouldn’t have realized if not for you. You taught me about the ranch and how things work in the country, but you also helped ease the pain of my past. Coming with me to meet my grandfather for the first time meant a lot. That was a hard reunion, but having you there comforting me and showing me how to let go worked miracles for me. You helped me turn away from the past and look forward. To the future. You gave me something
